East Coast Economic Corridor: Geographical Simulation Analysis for West Bengal and Neighbouring Countries

The East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) is a major initiative to accelerate economic growth along India’s eastern coastline, spanning approximately 2,500 kilometres from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Kolkata in West Bengal. Passing through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal, the corridor connects key cities and ports, facilitating efficient logistics and linking India’s industries to Southeast and East Asian supply chains.

For the West Bengal segment, the Asian Development Bank formulated a comprehensive development plan identifying priority industrial nodes, including Kharagpur–Goaltore–Salboni and Andal–Panagarh, as well as emerging centres such as Haldia–Tajpur, Dankuni, Siliguri, and Kalyani.

This study, ‘East Coast Economic Corridor: Geographical Simulation Analysis for West Bengal and Neighbouring Countries’, applies the IDE-Geographical Simulation Model (IDE-GSM) to evaluate the economic impacts of infrastructure and policy interventions. The results reveal significant gains for West Bengal and neighbouring countries, particularly Bangladesh and Bhutan. Road infrastructure upgrades, establishment of special economic zones (SEZs), and reduction of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) produce synergistic effects, increasing West Bengal’s GDP by 1.6%, 3.4%, and 2.6%, respectively, and 7.65% in combination.

The study recommends strengthening regional connectivity, promoting industrial development, reducing NTBs, and enhancing capacity building for customs, logistics, and SMEs. It further suggests regularly updating the development plan to reflect evolving economic trends and integrate new strategic growth areas.